AMRITSAR India: The CR “PF shot dead a Granthi of a historic Gurdwara in Jaura village in Sarhali police station in Amritsar District last night while the city remained under curfew without any relaxation. According to the City Superintendent of Police C.R.P.F got information that Gurbachan Singh Minochail member Of the Panthic Committee and a proclaimed offender was hiding in the house of the Granthi Harbhajan Singh As C.R.P.F neared the house Harbajan Singh came out and taking C.R.P.F. men as antisocial elements he ran towards the house of Ram Singh about 200 yards away. The C.R.P-F opened fired on him and killed him on the spot. Hearing the gun-shots Ram Singh opened the door of his house and he was also fired at. He was injured and brought to the S.G.T.B. Hospital here. He is out of danger. A .22 pistol 445 and 303 cartridges were reportedly planted on Harbhajan Singh’s body by the C.R.P.F. The relatives of Harbhajan Singh who had got married only a day before contested the police version According to them Harbhajan Singh had just returned with his bride and was sitting with his relatives when they heard some strange noise outside. Somebody also said that Harbhajan Singh was immediately shot when he came out of his house.

In the morning some 700 people from the Jaura village went to Tarn Taran and gheraod the police station. After sometime they lifted the gherao went to Jandiala Chowk and blocked the traffic. The situation in Tarn Taran town is tense.

The S.G.P.C Secretary Mr. Bhan Singh in a telegram to the Chief Minister alleged that C.R.P.F. raided Tarn Taran Gurdwara on Wednesday night and took away seventeen S.G.P.C. employees He said the Gurdwara employees were agitated since the C.R.PPs. action. The killing of Harbhajan Singh he said had further aggravated the situation The CR PF. had also detained a S.G.P.C. member Mr. Inder Singh Kirtewala Mr. Bhan Singh said and asked the Chief Minister to order an inquiry into the incident.

Three persons among those blocking the Amritsar-Fridkot road at Tarn Taran Chowk were wounded in firing by the C.R.P.F when they tried to stop the jeep carrying the C.R.P.F. jawans. The condition of the injured could not be ascertained. Meanwhile police and S.G.P.C. sources said that no raid was conducted last night at Darbar Sahib Gurdwara Tarn Taran town. The sources said that the security forces have however raided offices of the gurdwaras located outside the religious places and arrested seventeen people for inter rogation in their bid to find out the whereabouts of the Panthic Committee member Gurbachan Singh Minochail. Meanwhile curfew continued in Amritsar without any relaxations Police arrested 81 antisocial elements from various locations. Any relaxation in the curfew was unlikely even on the following day.

A miscreant was shot dead by  B.S.F patrol party at Batala who had allegedly intruded along with  another into the house of a merchant Mr. Pritam Das and had at pistol point asked him to hand over the cash and the jewellery. The B.S.F party patrolling nearby rushed to the house when the merchant’s wife raised an alarm. The security men fired at the miscreants killing one of them while the other managed to escape. The pistol carried by the miscreants was later found by B.S.F. In another incident a youngman in his early twenties was fired upon in Patiala He was however declared dead by the doctors when taken to the Rajindra Hospital.

Article extracted from this publication >> July 4, 1986